Relatives of the victims, who ranged in age from 32 to 86, have expressed mixed views on whether they thought federal prosecutors should pursue the death penalty. Mark Talley, whose 63-year-old mother, Geraldine Talley, was killed, said he wasnt necessarily disappointed by the decision, even if he would have preferred Gendron spend his life behind bars. It would have satisfied me more knowing he would have spent the rest of his life in prison being surrounded by the population of people he tried to kill, Talley said. In a joint statement, attorneys for some of victims relatives said the decision provides a pathway to both relief and a measure of closure for the victims and their families. An attorney for Gendron, Sonya Zoghlin, said she was deeply disappointed by the governments decision to seek the death penalty, noting that her client was 18 at the time of the shooting. Rather than a prolonged and traumatic capital prosecution, the efforts of the federal government would be better spent on combatting the forces that facilitated this terrible crime, including easy access to deadly weapons and the failure of social media companies to moderate the hateful rhetoric and images that circulate online, Zoghlin said in a statement. Gendron carried out his attack on May 14, 2022, using a semi-automatic marked with racial slurs and phrases including The Great Replacement, a reference to a conspiracy theory that theres a plot to diminish the influence of white people. Prosecutors met Friday with several family members of victims before the decision to seek the death penalty was made public. Pamela Pritchett, whose 77-year-old mother, Pearl Young, was killed in the attack, said the mood was somber. I will be scarred. Everybody, every family, the community of the East Side, were all gonna be scarred, she said. For me, my goal is to look at the scar and know that I am healed.The post Update: Prosecutors to seek death penalty for white supremacist who killed 10 at Buffalo supermarket appeared first on Ringroad.com.ng Your Free Online Search Engine .
